After students had a demonstration about surface area in the small intestine the previous day, including its importance, I wanted to see (as they worked together in groups) how much information they had actually retained and understood. My goal was to challenge them to think outside of regurgitating information that they were given, they had to apply what they knew to find an answer. The students were also working (competitively) in a group, enhancing group work skills.
B. Formal Assessment
Here, students were asked to put a process that they had studied into their own words through writing. Through a list of words, and how comprehensively the students connected them and the ease at which they put it into their own voice, I could determine whether or not students truly comprehended the material.
These two goals were built upon GSE LS1-FAF-4; wherein students are to "explain relationships between or among the structure and function of cells, tissues, organs, and organ systems in an organism."
III. Assessments
A. Description of Informal Assessment
This assessment is following the day after a demonstration and a lab exercise regarding surface area in the small intestine. The students had followed a procedure to find the surface area of a number of different things, including the inside of a set of tickets. They also learned that a greater surface area lent to a greater absorption within the small intestine. This assessment asked students to calculate the surface area of varying lengths of tickets (L x W = surface area). It also asked students to look, in a more creative way at other organs and animals that might benefit from having a different surface area. Students were also challenged to use other basic math skills to convert meters to feet, since I was not certain how much exposure they have had to metric conversions; and the majority of the students proved that they have had extensive experiences, as most of the class had no problems. Also, the students who had more difficulty applying the concepts were placed with other students who had demonstrated that they did not struggle with application.
Here, students were given a quiz with two questions. I made certain that I walked through the sets of questions first before I continued on. The first question was assessing factual recall; but instead of writing the answer they were expected to draw the outcome of a particular test. (Benedict's test for simple sugars) In the second question students were given a set of vocabulary terms, of which they were expected to already know and have an understanding of their meaning- relating to the human digestive system. With these vocabulary words, they were asked to apply these words to a real world scenario- "describe to your little sister what would happen if you were trying to swallow a piece of sandwich upside down on the monkey bars" I made certain that I explained to the classes that I wanted students to act as if they were trying to "dumb down" their language, their little sister would not understand a kind of scientific jargon; and that they would be graded based on how well the words fit together, and if they could use all of the vocabulary given.
Within the class, students were about three-quarters of the way through a unit of the human digestive system. I was curious as to see exactly what the students had learned, and if they were capable of putting it into context. They certainly knew the correct answers to the vocabulary, but why would it matter if they couldn't use it appropriately? At the point of the informal assessment, students had begun to break into other organisms and the differences in body structure (specifically, digestive system). By applying what they knew to other organisms, and how they thought their systems worked, they could demonstrate to me that they truly understood what each piece did; even if their inferences were wrong in reality. If students could explain and justify what they inferred, I would count it as valid comprehension.
B. Analysis of Informal Assessment
The analysis of the informal assessment was done in class, with different students presenting their answers and examples upon the board and to the class. In the math portions of the project, a few students were selected to be the "writers" and the rest of the class would explain to them how to work the problem out on the board, without the writers correcting the information or adding to it. (In this way, students had to recall specifically how to verbally communicate such information to their peers). Here, I was able to recognize whether or not students truly could first communicate HOW to solve the problem and second really understand how to solve the problem, by being capable of explaining it in their own words to a peer. At the point of comparing humans to animals, I wanted students to critically think WHY they chose the answer that they did. Since this was meant to be informal, they did have to write down their answers initially. As they finished their worksheet, they then proceeded to present to the class reasons WHY they thought there was a difference between the animals' digestive systems. In this way, outside of just collecting the worksheets alone, students learned to interact with each other and communicate their ideas to others as well as me.
I found that with the informal assessment, most of the students did well regarding the two math equations. These were straightforward enough, and required not too much outside thought to be placed into solving the problem. With the application problems, I ran into some issues. Many of the students were accustomed to having to derive an answer on their own, a thought which disturbed me somewhat. I would help them understand why (for example) the small intestine are long, but I was not about to donate an answer as to why; unless students were truly lost. The majority of the students understood why the intestines were a certain length and how it benefited them, but many struggled to apply the concept of more surface area = more absorption to other concepts. Many wanted me to give them a "right or wrong" answer, or perhaps I should have written the question with more of an emphasis on creativity- which was what I was looking for.
C. Analysis of Formal Assessment:Rubric
In the formal assessment, I was hoping to achieve understanding on a higher level. Many of the students did very well. After looking at my rubric, I found that most knew how to put together a paragraph explaining the digestive system. I had developed a rubric for this question (number two) so that I could evaluate each individual in a consistent way; since the question was designed to have many opportunities for creativity. They were given a set of words, and asked to put them into a hypothetical situation, and explain as much as they could. Points were given for the amount of words used and how well they were used in a context. The first student, (with the 105) used every word that they could, and developed an explanation from there. He started off with "when you take a bite of your sandwich..." which meant that he understood that I wanted some kind of explanatory writing. The middle-level student thought as much as well, however he did not bring together the vocabulary, or rather the meaning he was attributing to the vocab was not effective. The lower level student struggled through it, and did not display that he knew the information asked. This seems to be a pattern with him, however, and I am not entirely certain why. It appears that he does not have much support for school from back home, at least from speaking to my team; which is really disappointing. When he does provide input, it is usually very thought provoking and well thought out, and he certainly is not of a lower cognitive ability- it just appears that motivation is an issue; and as a student teacher, I am only allowed to know so much and I only have a few weeks to find out.
I found that the informal assessment went fairly well overall, however I am not pleased with the overall group presentations that occurred. Perhaps since the work was done on a Friday afternoon, the students were not entirely engaged and were rather distracted; and giggles tended to spread like wildfire. I think, if I had created this assignment previously, I may have made students pick an animal, go research it, and describe why their digestive system was built the way that it is. (i.e- a cow's small intestines are long since they have to eat grass, and grass is not very nutritional)
B. Reflections from Formal Assessment
I really enjoyed this quiz, as did some of the students. The majority did well, however, I am going to have to be careful for the students who have a writing disability. I watched one student (he answers spoken questions insightfully, though he struggles with writing) struggle through trying to write the paragraph, and then I ended up asking the aide he was assigned if she could help him out in their classroom when he visits in the morning. I also may have mentioned that if they could draw a diagram and explain it well, that this would be acceptable too.
VI. Conclusions
I wonder if perhaps it may be a good idea to allow students to grade their own work. It seems more often than not, that a page is handed back, and a student does not give two cents about the content and how to fix it, rather they care for the grade given. However, I often wonder if there is any way we could shift outside of this addictive loop of grading, and focus more on learning for the sake of learning, rather than grades as a reward for the correct answer. One student exclaimed that he would not be happy if he recieved anything less than a "100" on a paper. I asked him, "What if you answered every single question wrong, and still go a grade of '100', and I did not tell you why you got every single problem wrong?"; to which he replied after some hesitation, "Well, I don't think I'd care, so long as I still got that 100." He was smiling as he finished saying this. I was somewhat disturbed, okay so at least he has some vestige of a motivating factor. The question then arises, is this really what learning is supposed to be?
Formal and Informal Assessment of Student Learning
Name: Lauren Paetznick
I. Assignment Description/Requirements
Formal Informal Assessments 2009
II. Description of Learning Goals
A. Informal Assessment
After students had a demonstration about surface area in the small intestine the previous day, including its importance, I wanted to see (as they worked together in groups) how much information they had actually retained and understood. My goal was to challenge them to think outside of regurgitating information that they were given, they had to apply what they knew to find an answer. The students were also working (competitively) in a group, enhancing group work skills.B. Formal Assessment
Here, students were asked to put a process that they had studied into their own words through writing. Through a list of words, and how comprehensively the students connected them and the ease at which they put it into their own voice, I could determine whether or not students truly comprehended the material.These two goals were built upon GSE LS1-FAF-4; wherein students are to "explain relationships between or among the structure and function of cells, tissues, organs, and organ systems in an organism."
III. Assessments
A. Description of Informal Assessment
This assessment is following the day after a demonstration and a lab exercise regarding surface area in the small intestine. The students had followed a procedure to find the surface area of a number of different things, including the inside of a set of tickets. They also learned that a greater surface area lent to a greater absorption within the small intestine. This assessment asked students to calculate the surface area of varying lengths of tickets (L x W = surface area). It also asked students to look, in a more creative way at other organs and animals that might benefit from having a different surface area. Students were also challenged to use other basic math skills to convert meters to feet, since I was not certain how much exposure they have had to metric conversions; and the majority of the students proved that they have had extensive experiences, as most of the class had no problems. Also, the students who had more difficulty applying the concepts were placed with other students who had demonstrated that they did not struggle with application.B. Description of Formal Assessment
Here, students were given a quiz with two questions. I made certain that I walked through the sets of questions first before I continued on. The first question was assessing factual recall; but instead of writing the answer they were expected to draw the outcome of a particular test. (Benedict's test for simple sugars) In the second question students were given a set of vocabulary terms, of which they were expected to already know and have an understanding of their meaning- relating to the human digestive system. With these vocabulary words, they were asked to apply these words to a real world scenario- "describe to your little sister what would happen if you were trying to swallow a piece of sandwich upside down on the monkey bars" I made certain that I explained to the classes that I wanted students to act as if they were trying to "dumb down" their language, their little sister would not understand a kind of scientific jargon; and that they would be graded based on how well the words fit together, and if they could use all of the vocabulary given.IV. Analysis
A. Description of Class Context:
Within the class, students were about three-quarters of the way through a unit of the human digestive system. I was curious as to see exactly what the students had learned, and if they were capable of putting it into context. They certainly knew the correct answers to the vocabulary, but why would it matter if they couldn't use it appropriately? At the point of the informal assessment, students had begun to break into other organisms and the differences in body structure (specifically, digestive system). By applying what they knew to other organisms, and how they thought their systems worked, they could demonstrate to me that they truly understood what each piece did; even if their inferences were wrong in reality. If students could explain and justify what they inferred, I would count it as valid comprehension.B. Analysis of Informal Assessment
The analysis of the informal assessment was done in class, with different students presenting their answers and examples upon the board and to the class. In the math portions of the project, a few students were selected to be the "writers" and the rest of the class would explain to them how to work the problem out on the board, without the writers correcting the information or adding to it. (In this way, students had to recall specifically how to verbally communicate such information to their peers). Here, I was able to recognize whether or not students truly could first communicate HOW to solve the problem and second really understand how to solve the problem, by being capable of explaining it in their own words to a peer. At the point of comparing humans to animals, I wanted students to critically think WHY they chose the answer that they did. Since this was meant to be informal, they did have to write down their answers initially. As they finished their worksheet, they then proceeded to present to the class reasons WHY they thought there was a difference between the animals' digestive systems. In this way, outside of just collecting the worksheets alone, students learned to interact with each other and communicate their ideas to others as well as me.I found that with the informal assessment, most of the students did well regarding the two math equations. These were straightforward enough, and required not too much outside thought to be placed into solving the problem. With the application problems, I ran into some issues. Many of the students were accustomed to having to derive an answer on their own, a thought which disturbed me somewhat. I would help them understand why (for example) the small intestine are long, but I was not about to donate an answer as to why; unless students were truly lost. The majority of the students understood why the intestines were a certain length and how it benefited them, but many struggled to apply the concept of more surface area = more absorption to other concepts. Many wanted me to give them a "right or wrong" answer, or perhaps I should have written the question with more of an emphasis on creativity- which was what I was looking for.
C. Analysis of Formal Assessment: Rubric
In the formal assessment, I was hoping to achieve understanding on a higher level. Many of the students did very well. After looking at my rubric, I found that most knew how to put together a paragraph explaining the digestive system. I had developed a rubric for this question (number two) so that I could evaluate each individual in a consistent way; since the question was designed to have many opportunities for creativity. They were given a set of words, and asked to put them into a hypothetical situation, and explain as much as they could. Points were given for the amount of words used and how well they were used in a context. The first student, (with the 105) used every word that they could, and developed an explanation from there. He started off with "when you take a bite of your sandwich..." which meant that he understood that I wanted some kind of explanatory writing. The middle-level student thought as much as well, however he did not bring together the vocabulary, or rather the meaning he was attributing to the vocab was not effective. The lower level student struggled through it, and did not display that he knew the information asked. This seems to be a pattern with him, however, and I am not entirely certain why. It appears that he does not have much support for school from back home, at least from speaking to my team; which is really disappointing. When he does provide input, it is usually very thought provoking and well thought out, and he certainly is not of a lower cognitive ability- it just appears that motivation is an issue; and as a student teacher, I am only allowed to know so much and I only have a few weeks to find out.Examples of Student Work
V. Commentary / Reflection
A. Reflections from Informal Assessment
I found that the informal assessment went fairly well overall, however I am not pleased with the overall group presentations that occurred. Perhaps since the work was done on a Friday afternoon, the students were not entirely engaged and were rather distracted; and giggles tended to spread like wildfire. I think, if I had created this assignment previously, I may have made students pick an animal, go research it, and describe why their digestive system was built the way that it is. (i.e- a cow's small intestines are long since they have to eat grass, and grass is not very nutritional)B. Reflections from Formal Assessment
I really enjoyed this quiz, as did some of the students. The majority did well, however, I am going to have to be careful for the students who have a writing disability. I watched one student (he answers spoken questions insightfully, though he struggles with writing) struggle through trying to write the paragraph, and then I ended up asking the aide he was assigned if she could help him out in their classroom when he visits in the morning. I also may have mentioned that if they could draw a diagram and explain it well, that this would be acceptable too.VI. Conclusions
I wonder if perhaps it may be a good idea to allow students to grade their own work. It seems more often than not, that a page is handed back, and a student does not give two cents about the content and how to fix it, rather they care for the grade given. However, I often wonder if there is any way we could shift outside of this addictive loop of grading, and focus more on learning for the sake of learning, rather than grades as a reward for the correct answer. One student exclaimed that he would not be happy if he recieved anything less than a "100" on a paper. I asked him, "What if you answered every single question wrong, and still go a grade of '100', and I did not tell you why you got every single problem wrong?"; to which he replied after some hesitation, "Well, I don't think I'd care, so long as I still got that 100." He was smiling as he finished saying this. I was somewhat disturbed, okay so at least he has some vestige of a motivating factor. The question then arises, is this really what learning is supposed to be?